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Widgets Magazine

2017 Simulcast Wrap-up Part 1: The Rest

2017 Simulcast Wrap-up Part 1: The Rest

With the conclusion of the fall simulcast season, that means 2017 is now over in terms of simulcasts and with that, it is time I do the first of several evaluation posts that wraps up the season as a whole. First up are the simulcast reviews and they work exactly the same way I do it from last year. As I did last year, I'm going to separate my rankings into two parts with the first part being shows that were alright or worse that I managed to see through to the end. As a quick refresher, I bring in all the shows that I watched during this year and rank them. Much like last year, I assign scores to all these shows that I watch with a number from 0 to 105 that's a reflection of how I assign grades on MAL, which is the number left when the last digit is removed (100+ = 10, 99-90 = 9, 89-80 = 8, etc.). The grade scale is as follows:

Every year, I limit the number of shows that get the 10 grades to three completely new shows (sequels and continuing shows do not count towards the limit). As I do with the leader board for the Currently Watching threads, I have a five tier system and since this evaluation is happening during football season that I use football terminology as names. They are Touchdown, Field Goal, First Down, Punt, and Fumble to indicate Awesome, Very Good, Good, Mediocre, and Awful, respectively. With that said, here are my rankings for the 2017 season.

As for how I handle sequels due to the rise of the split cour shows, here are some general rules as to determine if the seasons are evaluated separately or together. To make things simpler, I will provide a guide as to how I make that determination.

Shows with multiple seasons are evaluated together if one of the following is true:
1. The show continues after a one cour hiatus AND is a continuation of the main story. (ex. Tales of Zestiria the X, Fate/Zero, Snow White with the Red Hair)
2. The show continues after a two cour hiatus AND is a continuation of the main story AND all episodes air within a one year time span. (ex. Ajin, Fafner Exodus, the new Berserk are evaluated as one, but Haikyuu!! seasons 2 and 3 are separately evaluated because episode numbers reset)
3. All seasons of shorts are evaluated together unless there's a change in studio or show length (ex. Teekyu has grades for seasons 1-3 and 4-9 as a different animation studio did seasons 4-9, and Miss Monochrome season 1 is evaluated on its own while 2 and 3 are together as the run length is twice as long for seasons 2 and 3)

Lastly, there are some shows that continue into 2018, and as such, their score is not finalized as it's only based on the episodes that have aired so far. This shows are marked in Italics.

All of my thoughts and reviews are copied and pasted from the Currently Watching threads to save me some time (though I ended up having to write some from scratch that mainly applies to continuing shows). Last year, I was up against the 50k character limit, so I ended up splitting this into two posts, but even though I don't have that problem with the new forums, I still will split it as I still have some rankings to figure out for the top tier shows. The first one is for the shows in the First Down, Punt, and Fumble tiers that I have watched and completed, while the second one coming tomorrow is for shows in the Touchdown and Field Goal tiers. So with that, here are all shows that aired in Japan during 2017 that didn't exactly leave a lasting impression, but I had the willingness to watch to the end.

Note: Shows that continue into 2018 either as consecutive cours or split fours falling under one of the three conditions stated above for sequels evaluated alongside are in Italics. The show grades for these shows only reflect the show up through the final episode that aired in 2017.

Touchdown

Coming in Part 2

Field Goal

Coming in Part 2

First Down

46. Konohana Kitan: B- (Score: 79)
This is a solid feel-good show, not so much as something story-driven as the whole guests-of-the-week format really felt repetitive and stale. That said, the show was enjoyable for the cute characters, the antics, and the mysteries surrounding the guests, while the artwork was gorgeous to support the tone of the show. But at the same time, I was hoping for some character growth, but there wasn't a whole lot to go on, all while some of the main cast just were there and didn't really get any attention. In the end, it's a show that was well worth my time.

47. Kemono Friends: B- (Score: 79)
This show ended up being a pleasant surprise after all the shock from the first few episodes settles in. This show starts off being bad due mostly to the amount of emptiness as it looked like this show was struggling to fill up the time slot. Not to mention, there's the low quality CG, all while the simple and gimmicky concept didn't appear to amount to much. But as the show progresses, it gets better as its status as a full-length show as opposed to a short is justified by filling up the time slot with intuitive substance (save for the ridiculously long mid-episode eyecatches). Anyway, this show ended up being highly enjoyable for the cute characters, the amusing antics, fun atmosphere, and an air of mystery to build intrigue into what should be thought of as a kids show.

48. Restaurant to Another World: B- (Score: 79)
This show is enjoyable for the characters, the food, and the relaxing atmosphere, while it does a nice job in making the characters stand out during their time in the spotlight. That said, the story's structure leaves something to be desired as the half-episodes greatly varied in quality. Not to mention, the format made for a rather weak attempt at building a story that I thought wasn't really necessary. But in the end, it's good for what it is.

49. The Royal Tutor: B- (Score: 78)
This show ended up being very nice to watch despite the premise suggesting that it was going to be pure fujoshi bait. The character development is really strong while the episodes are a bunch of fun adventures all to help the boys learn about society and themselves. This show's biggest shortcoming is the plot as it is a weakly-constructed one. In all, it's a show that was surprising fun to watch as the characters all made it work in the end.

50. Just Because!: B- (Score: 78)
This show was a solid romantic drama that has a nice premise, solid animation, and an amazing soundtrack. It does a great job in giving characters depth, all while the drama was nice to watch. That said, this show took quite awhile to get itself established as there were too many characters to keep track off, all while it the lack of clarity made it hard to get into at the beginning. It started out being way to complex for its own good, but midway through things get simplified in a big way as it was clear what each character was dealing with at that point. In all, it's a solid show, but one that could have certainly been written better, especially at the beginning.

51. Hitorijime My Hero: B- (Score: 78)
This show is nice to watch for the story, the drama, and the antics all while the characters are interesting. For someone who is into BL stuff, this show does the job. That said, while there were plenty of good things about this show, there are some pretty big flaws with the ones standing out the most being the characterization and the progression of the plot. I just felt like the characters were going overboard with some cringeworthy stuff that it made the show hard to watch at times. Then there is the plot progression as it was pretty bad at the beginning while it felt rushed at times towards the end. But in all, those who are into these kinds of shows will get a treat to satisfy their BL fix.

52. Nanbaka: B- (Score: 78)
This is a pretty enjoyable show with fun characters, hilarious comedy, wild action, and intriguing storylines. However, this show suffers from trying to do too many things and the result is a show with a meandering story that goes at a pace too slow, with the end result being an incomplete story and intriguing plotlines that are kicked to the curb. In addition, the animation is another gripe I have about this show. That said, it was a fun ride while it lasted, but the way the story is constructed just is disappointing.

53. Altair: A Record of Battles: B- (Score: 77)
This show was a mixed bag as some parts of the manga were well-adapted while other parts, not so much. The middle part of the series is especially well done, but the ending felt really rushed. There were plenty of good things about this show while others not so good. It has a strong MC, great animation, a story concept full of intrigue, and excellent drama that made this worth watching. However, the biggest problems are the pacing and the way the show handles the large cast as characters were being introduced too fast to keep up with them while a number of characters that are supposed to be relevant were seemingly forgotten. And on top of that, the show got way too comprehensive to be easily understood. That said, it's a solid show with some great storytelling, but not one that's for everybody.

54. Grimoire of Zero: B- (Score: 77)
This show started out strong doing a great job in introducing the characters and adding all sorts of intrigue to the show. But unfortunately the storywriting just didn't stay up to snuff throughout the series as towards the end, the show becomes very predictable and mainly uninspiring. That said, the action and adventure aspects are nicely done, all while the show had a promising story. In the end, it was still worthwhile to watch this because of the characters, but it is definitely not in elite company.

55. Koro-Sensei Quest!: B- (Score: 77)
This show does a nice job in being a parody of the main AssClass series, which should be watched before getting to this as many of the jokes won't make sense if you haven't. It's a lot of fun to watch as it does an excellent job in making fun of the main show and everything is pretty hilarious. That said, it doesn't cover all of the importan events while some of the jokes missed their mark. But in all it's a parody and this show does a solid job at that.

56. Alice and Zouroku: B- (Score: 76)
This is a show that had a hard time trying to figure out what it wanted to be as it's a mixture of good things and not-so-good things. The show does well during the lighthearted stuff, but the more serious stuff the execution is inconsistent at best whether it be trying to do too much or having too many plot holes to make things work. That said, this show excels in character development as everybody improves their outlook quite a lot, and it's pretty heartwarming. It's just that the story could have been executed much better, but watching the cute characters and all the growth that goes on makes it worthwhile.

57. Masamune-kun's Revenge: B- (Score: 76)
While this show was entertaining, it had its fair share of issues. This show has interesting characters, intriguing plotlines, nice artwork, and a story concept that had potential written all over it, and the show really got good in the middle. However, things stumbled towards the end with the last minute introduction of a new character that led to problems with storywriting. The biggest problem with this show is that the show tries to be a drama, comedy, and a romance show, among other things, and it doesn't exactly settle into any of these leading to a bland and meandering story with pacing issues. But in the end, the reason to watch this is for the characters because of the serious baggage they carry throughout the show.

58. Rewrite: C+ (Score: 75)
This is pretty disappointing for an adaptation of a Key visual novel. This show starts off on the wrong foot dragging all the occult club stuff longer than it should have, while the stuff ending the first season was badly written and getting away from the franchise's core values. That said, this show gets batter in the second season as it adapts straight from the source material and as such, the storytelling is much improved over the first season. The emotional impact is there, and the concept of having things play out like the visual novel with those decisions is a nice touch. However, the story felt rushed, especially the Moon arc seeing that it opted to only go 11 episodes and the show didn't have as much depth as I would have liked. In the end, the show accomplished what it sets out to do, but in doing so there was a good amount of compromising and subpar storywriting along the way.

59. Anime-gataris: C+ (Score: 75)
This is quite a fun show that is best enjoyed not expecting anything groundbreaking out of it because it sure did deliver on the comedy, and not much else. There's interesting characters, amusing references, wall-breaking, and lots of crazy humor that carry this show, but that's essentially the show in a nutshell as there's just nothing about it that makes it more than a feel-good show. In any case, it was a fun ride to be had.

60. Love and Lies: C+ (Score: 74)
This show started off well doing an excellent job with the drama and story concept, all while doing a great job in developing the two female leads. But this show's biggest problem is the MC as he's wishy-washy through and through, which is fine at the beginning but at some point he must lose that attitude, which doesn't really happen. The writing is pretty sloppy in the second half as there was too much going on that led to a rushed storyline and an awful final episode. And the other big gripe is the character designs. That said, this show is highly enjoyable because of the drama, it's just that it could have been better written.

61. Love Tyrant: C+ (Score: 74)
This show that is all about the comedy, and for the most part it was hit or miss. When it hits, it really is great as this is what really carries this show. This show has a decent story in place, while the characters are an interesting bunch. That said, this show has some serious problems with the biggest one being the animation quality as this is done by a studio that had done nothing but shorts until this. The way this show is animated just was tough on the eyes. Also, when the comedy misses, it drags the show down. That said, it was a fun time overall even if it didn't click on all cylinders in the end.

62. Ninja Girl and Samurai Master (seasons 1 & 2): C+ (Score: 73)
This show was pretty fun and amusing as the antics are really something and it's better than most other short format shows out there. It makes great use of the limited run time by focusing mostly on the comedy and not so much with the story strategically opting to use narration to fast-forward the story. Like with many other shorts, it has its problems with animation quality and the inability to establish a story. In any case, it's a great time to be had and I hope there's more of it someday.

63. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~: C+ (Score: 73)
This show was better than I was expecting for something adapted from an otome game that usually ends up being a mess more often times than not. While it was watchable, it still has lots of flaws that are typically associated with this kind of show. As for the good things about this show, it does a great job with the setup, and it is full of intrigue and complexity that makes this something to keep on watching, the character designs are great, and the characters are an interesting bunch. That said, this show does a subpar job in execution of the story, all while the MC starts going down the path that's the biggest problem with otome game adaptations, and not to mention some of the supporting characters barely get any attention and development. In the end, this show would have been better if it got two cours, but it had to compromise to get everything to fit into a one cour show as the game was well-received, but adapting it into this anime was going to be extremely tough with only one cour to work with.

64. A Centaur's Life: C+ (Score: 73)
This show ended up being much better than I was expecting knowing just how bad Haoliners shows usually are. While it's nowhere near being a masterpiece, it's watchable and entertaining, which is something that's usually not the case with their shows. The characters are great, the story concept is creative, and the comedy is solid to make for a great time to be had. That said, this show still has all the problems that are common with Haoliners shows with the animation quality, a messy story (though with the way things are set up that's not really crucial), and a lack of direction. But in the end, this show is harmless fun and I had an amazing time with it.

65. Love is Like a Cocktail: C+ (Score: 72)
Given the short runtime this show has, it gets the job done being amusing in all sorts of ways. Chisato's antics are cute and amusing, all while it changes things up with different situations and stuff. That said, the humor is mostly repetitive, all while the supporting characters don't really get as much focus as I would have liked. But in all, it's worthwhile spending a few minutes watching this every week.

66. Granblue Fantasy: C+ (Score: 72)
This show has some good things going for it with interesting characters, a great soundtrack, good adventure, and animation that fits the show's atmosphere. However, it is hindered by a poorly-written story as it comes out being a blatant advertisement for the game more than anything, all while the show mentions things that are supposed to be important and ends up being ignored. In all, certain elements of this show are good that make for a bunch of feel-good moments, but in the grand scheme of things the story is a joke and it prioritizes marketing the mobile game rather than making a good anime show.

67. Twin Star Exorcists: C+ (Score: 71)
This show does some things well and others, not so much. Among the things it does well are the story concept, action, drama, and animation as those things put together is something that had the potential to be something great. However, this show should have stuck with the manga as the anime-original content was poorly written for the most part. The first 20 episodes were nicely done to set the foundation for big developments to happen. But the last 30 were just full of bad writing. While the writing was problematic, it does a solid job with character development seeing that there are so many twists along the way. So in summary, this is a show that should have followed the manga more rather than having it being mostly filler content.

68. Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria: C+ (Score: 71)
This spinoff is far inferior to the original Danmachi series as this show was more about glorifying Ais as a character rather than to tell a story about her adventures. First of all, Ais just isn't as interesting as Bell is as Bell had to start from the ground up, while Ais was already established leading to something that just isn't as meaningful. Then there are too many incongruities and needless distractions that hinder the flow of the story. However, the characters are great and the story in concept is good, all while there are some nice moments and intrigue to make this show go much like with the original series. In the end, there's no question that the original series is better than this.

Punt

69. Convenience Store Boyfrields: C (Score: 69)
This show is full of problems with the biggest ones being flat storytelling and the show unsure what it wanted to be at the beginning before settling on focusing on only the main two couples after teasing that it was supposed to tell the story about six different couples, while relegating the other four couples as just being extra stuff that really didn't do much in the story. But while the storytelling was a mess, it did a pretty good job with character development and relationship building. Not to mention, the characters themselves are pretty interesting people that had plenty of room for development, which is what this show did best. The show did get much better in the second half when it was more serious and focused, but the first half was where this show was lacking in direction. So in all, this show could have been better if it had settled in the direction early on.

70. ID-0: C (Score: 68)
While the show has an interesting premise and a solid story with lots of twists, the story's execution just is lacking, all while the CG usage was counterintuitive. Still, it has interesting characters and a lot of intrigue to it, but the way the show was put together could have been better than what it ended up being.

71. In Another World With My Smartphone: C (Score: 68)
This show is probably the most unoriginal show of the year as it tries hard to be like Konosuba, and for the most part it fails. This show has some good things going for it as the characters are great, the storywriting is decent despite the approach taken to this show, the artwork is nice, and the adventure part is pretty sound. However, the problems are far too detrimental with the biggest one being the MC's characterization as being all-powerful right off the bat meant little room for development and sets the stage for things to be bland. The humor is hit or miss as while some of them were good, others were really bad. That said, it was worthwhile to watch for the characters as this show has a great cast of characters, if nothing else.

72. Nyanko Days: C (Score: 68)
This show is a cute way to spend two minutes every week as it's all about the cats doing amusing things. Understandably so, there just wasn't going to be room for much substance. That said, this show would have stood to benefit by at least being a couple minutes longer seeing that there are several episodes where the cats don't appear, and that's the biggest thing I didn't like about this show seeing that the cats are supposed to be the featured characters in this show.

73. The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls Theater (seasons 1 & 2): C (Score: 66)
This show pretty much does what it could possibly do with the run time it has, and while some shorts were good, others not so much. The characters are cute and amusing, but in the end it just doesn't have much substance and certainly is not for those who are not familiar with the Cinderella Girls. Not to mention, lots of characters that were not part of the main cast appear and it's helpful that there are name tags at the start of each skit. In all, it's passable and not much more than that.

74. Lights of the Clione: C- (Score: 65)
This show does a great job of character development and being an emotional ride in spite of its short run time, all while it does a solid job with the drama. However, this show is hindered by some really serious problems with the biggest ones being the animation quality and the numerous cringeworthy moments that happen in this show. In all, the drama made this show worthwhile as it made for a solid roller coaster of emotion, but the animation just doesn't do justice at all.

75. Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys: C- (Score: 65)
This show pretty much does everything it has to as a short, and being an adaptation of an otome game that I had fairly low expectations of this show. But it does some things really well such as character development, while avoiding the biggest pitfalls that shows adapted from otome games. While this show was all about fighting, I like that the action was limited so that it can focus on telling a story. That said, this show has lots of problems as expected out of such shows in that the plot just feels empty, the animation quality is terrible, and that characters that should have gotten more focus did not. In all, it's a decent short and not a terrible waste of 8 minutes a week.

76. Fuuka: C- (Score: 65)
This show has some good things going for it, but way too many problems to make this show worth recommending. Among the positives for this show are the music, the drama, the story concept, and the character development as those things made me want to keep on watching this show. As for the problems, the biggest one is the storywriting as it's very unimaginative and things just felt rushed. Also, the characters are just frustrating to watch for being so indecisive in a bad way. So in essence, this show has solid drama, but the story was just too poorly written for it to take advantage of the show's concept.

77. UQ Holder!: C- (Score: 64)
This show is pretty much something that only Negima fans would appreciate as this show has a laundry list of problems that have dogged the Negima anime series as Ken Akamatsu's shows are notoriously difficult to faithfully adapt. While closer to its original source than either of the Negima series, it still doesn't capture the full intent of the manga. Anyway, this show does have its great points as the animation quality is nice, the action is great, the story has lots of intrigue, and of course, the characters as they are an interesting bunch. But at the same time, this show has its fair share of problems with the biggest ones being the corner-cutting of the story, the amount of attention to fanservice, and the rushed pacing. It was a big mistake to have this done in only one cour given the way things play out in the manga, but they did make do with the limited real estate the show had and unfortunately, it meant not being able to tap into its full potential.

78. Nyanbo!: C- (Score: 63)
This show is cute and amusing, and it is as much as I could reasonably ask for with just five minutes a week. While it was a nice time to be had, the jokes had the tendency to get really stale and the use of augmented reality for animation style is, at best, questionable. In the end, five minutes a week is a small commitment and I got enough out of it to make this worthwhile.

79. Teekyu 9: C- (Score: 62)
Pretty much, this has all the great things and not-so-great things of the previous season in the fast-talking comedy is great, but the bad animation and it takes episodes dampens it. This season does something different by adding an ending, and I found it rather inappropriate. But other than that, it's Teekyu like I know it.

80. Piacevole! My Italian Cooking: C- (Score: 60)
Seeing that this is a short that it was going to have the typical problems associated with them with the lack of a story and subpar animation quality. The biggest problem with the show is its formula and approach as every episode has a different dish cooked and in a way, that is repetitive. That said, this show has some cute and amusing moments, all while all this talk about cooking is really interesting. So in all, this is a solid way to spend a few minutes every week.

Fumble

81. Clockwork Planet: D+ (Score: 58)
This show is a massive disappointment as it has a laundry list of problems. The storywriting is simply all over the place often doing inappropriate stuff that stifles the flow of the show. There's also the mediocre animation as Xebec was just a poor fit for this show. And then there's the MC that was just hard to like. All of this was on full display in the first arc that really set the stage in a not-good way. That said, there were some really good things about this show in that the music is great, the characters are likable (save for the MC), and the action is really good. But in the end, this show's quality gets purged by all those major problems.

82. Taisho Meibusline: Chiccahi-san: D (Score: 46)
There were amusing moments to be found in this short, all while the guys are pretty interesting characters themselves. That said, it tried to craft some sort of a story, and with the short runtime that's impossible to do, thus it predictably fails. The animation quality is also as expected out of shorts all while some episodes were just lacking. But in all, the characters were the main draw and this show at least does a nice job in making them interesting.

83. Nora, Princess, and Stray Cat: D- (Score: 38)
This show is pretty much trashy with the biggest problem being the awful animation quality. Then there are the characters that are tough to put up with, and the humor is just all over the place. Just about the only redeeming quality of this show are the crazy outside-the-box ideas and the self-awareness that this show is not trying to be anything good which made them worth a look seeing that this is a short. That said, this show was pretty messed up.

84. One Room: D- (Score: 37)
This show has an innovative idea of having the girls speaking directly to you, which is something new to the table that I give this show credit for. That said, this show is simply gimmicky with not much substance to speak of. While the girls are annoying, what's even more so are the actions that are taken by the viewers leading to some cringeworthy things to make this something that's really disturbing.

85. Onyankopon: F (Score: 20)
Simply put, everything was simply abysmal in this short with terrible animation quality, and all sorts of nonsensical and nauseating stuff going on that's repetitive. Just about the only thing worth watching are the dances as those are nice to listen to. But other than that, there's nothing worthwhile.

I will get part 2 written up shortly, but it's going to take time since I'm still trying to figure out how to rank shows. Anyway, this is the rest, the shows that drop in ranked in the lower three tiers. At this time, I haven't finished Fate/Apocrypha even though this show has finished airing, so it will not take part in the rankings. The reviews are pretty much copy and pasted from the Currently Watching threads to save time, and I did this later than usual because one of the shows ended up finishing in January, which is unusual for a fall season show as this season saw three such shows finishing in the new year (with me watching one of them). There's that, and I was sidetracked by other things. But in any case, here is the first part of my simulcast rankings, and while I could have to split it unlike last time when the old forum had character limits, I think it works out for me better to do things this way.

A few issues I can see already, although I'll have to wait for the rest to come out to fully determine the incorrectness of certain selections:

61. Love Tyrant: C+ (Score: 74)
I score this higher, B- or B range. This was just a pure over-the-top show. It was a lot of fun.

71. In Another World With My Smartphone: C (Score: 68)
This was a sweet show, and you don't mention the meta-humor and 4th wall breaking that took place. I also very much disagree with you that this show is trying too hard to be like Konosuba. That is emphatically NOT the case. The problem is that this show is too easy to compare to the legendary masterpiece of humor that is Konosuba. It is a gentler, more laidback style of humor than Konosuba, a much sweeter show. This show merits at least a B.

A few others come to mind, but I'll look at what comes next to see if they're worth commenting on.

However, my biggest concern: The lack of Handshakers on this list, as it was one of the worst anime I've ever seen. Definitely F worthy.

Rest assured, the lists only consists of shows that I finished (or for shows continuing into 2018, all episodes that aired in 2017). Both Head Shakers and King's Game were dropped early on, so those duds won't be appearing on either list.